Driver jailed for breaking dogwalker's legs with moving car

A WOMAN who broke a man's legs by treating her car "as a weapon" was jailed yesterday.

Cheryl Henderson, 23, forced milkman Andrew Craven, 30, on to a set of railings in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

He was so badly injured that doctors had to insert pins and frames into both legs to repair the damage.

Three months later he is still walking with crutches and expects to be off work for a year.

Judge Lord Pentland said Henderson used her car "as a weapon" and sentenced her to three years and nine months' imprisonment. He also banned her from driving for seven years.

The High Court in Dumbarton heard that Henderson, who has never held a driving licence, rammed Mr Craven "at speed" after an encounter in a car park while he was walking his dog.

The incident happened on 23 September, 2009, a date on which Henderson had been planning a night out with her female lover.

Leanne Cross, prosecuting, said they had dropped off Henderson's lovers' four children and a baby sitter, who had headed for a nearby chip shop, while they waited in a car in a car park in Alford Avenue, Kirkcaldy, with Henderson at the wheel.

Mr Craven – whose girlfriend's brother was once married to Henderson's lover – was walking his dog there and became involved in an argument with Henderson.

Henderson, who has previous convictions for robbery and assault, put her foot on the accelerator and sped towards him.

Ms Cross said: "She mounted the kerb and struck Mr Craven with the front end of the vehicle, pinning him against the railings."

Henderson, of Ailsa Grove, Kirkcaldy, pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Craven to the danger of his life. An allegation that the incident was attempted murder was dropped.